Hollow fiber membranes market has been segmented on basis of filtration type: microfiltration, ultrafiltration & reverse osmosis, on membrane materials: polymer, ceramic, by end user: water & waste water treatment, food & beverages, biotechnology, chemicals & pharma and other applications which comprises of pesticides, wood, paper & pulp manufacturing. The demand of hollow fiber membranes has been driven by rise in fresh & clean water by various end use industries such as food & beverages especially beer & wines, biotech, pharmaceuticals & chemicals. As this cost-effective method caters to wide range of applications, global companies in the business have been confident about the double-digit market growth in the coming future.

Microfiltration which finds its end use applications in dairy, beer & wine production, municipal waste water treatment among others was concluded the largest market for hollow fiber membrane modules in 2017 with an estimated global market share of 48%. Reverse osmosis (RO) at present is a smaller market for hollow fiber membranes as compared to ultrafiltration and microfiltration. But this market is expected to grow at a significant pace in the forecast period because of rise in demand of desalinated water especially in Middle East & African markets. Toyobo Japan has installed many RO facilities in Middle East market.

The fibers used in hollow membranes are made from two class of materials: Polymers which comprises of PVDF, polyimides, polyamides, PTFE, polyether sulfone (PES), cellulose triacetate, polyacrylonitrile & secondly ceramic materials. However, polymers were the most widely used materials in the industry because of high permeable properties. Ceramic membranes find applications where high-pressure resistance is required especially when handling caustic solutions and acids. Ceramic membranes offer excellent stability and also require little pretreatment along with maintenance. However, almost 85-90% of the hollow fiber membrane market is dominated by polymers especially PVDF. Recently PVDF membranes made by non-solvent induced phase separation & thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) process has outpaced the traditional flat sheet membrane applications. PVDF is also a cost-effective solution for membrane filtration technology. PVDF membranes constitutes about 55-60% of the total market followed by polyamides, polyimides, sulfones among others. The market of ceramic hollow fiber membrane modules was estimated at USD 296.0 million in 2017 and is estimated to reach USD 546.4 million by 2025 growing at a CAGR of 8.0%.

Polymem France, a leading player of hollow fiber membrane cartridges and modules & Arkema France has jointly developed a new ultrafiltration PVDF membrane which can cater to wide range of applications such as recycling municipal water along with pretreatment in seawater desalination. Toyobo Japan has also developed a RO hollow fiber membrane modules which has been fitted in many desalination plants across the globe such as Ras Al Khair plant in UAE, Fukuoka seawater desalination plant & many plants in Africa and Middle East countries. DIC Japan which is into the hollow membrane market business since long claims to have almost 70% share in membrane modules used in inkjet printer.

Asia Pacific dominated the hollow fiber membranes constituting approximately 30% market share, followed by Europe and North America. Middle East & African market. although smaller but are expected to grow at a significant pace during forecast period due to increase in number of desalination plants especially in Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Hollow Fiber Membranes Market, By Filtration type

Microfiltration was the largest market for hollow fiber membranes market in 2017 globally and is expected to grow at a faster rate as compared to ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis. Microfiltration caters to wide range of food & beverage applications such as beer & wine, processing dairy products, sterilizing beverages and pharmaceuticals. It also majorly caters to treating waste and portable water along with refining petroleum products.

Ultrafiltration was the second largest market for hollow fiber membranes market in 2017 and is expected to grow at an 8.2% CAGR till forecast period. Ultrafiltration also find wide applications in separating oil & water emulsions, treating waste water, cheese manufacturing, chemical processing, clarifying fruit juices, removing pathogens from milk among others.

Hollow Fiber Membranes Market, By Membrane Material

The report includes market analysis of different types of material used for manufacturing membranes such as polymers and ceramics. Polymers are the dominant class of materials used because of their low cost and excellent stability to high pressure and temperature. The sub categories of polymers include PVDF, PES, polyamides, polyimides, polyacrylonitrile, cellulose triacetate among others. PVDF resin constitute major portion of the market and is expected to dominate the market till the forecast period.

Hollow Fiber Membranes Market, By End-User

Geographically, Asia Pacific is estimated to be the largest market of hollow fiber membranes because of large number of food & beverage companies operating in China, India, Malaysia, Thailand & Singapore. Also due to stringent regulations related to waste water recycling and process efficiency in developing economies of India & Thailand, the market is expected to grow at a double- digit rates.

European region was estimated to be the second largest market for hollow fiber membranes and is expected to grow at a approx. 8% CAGR till forecast period. The European market was estimated at USD 985.4 million in 2017.

In Middle East, UAE & Saudi Arabia are the major markets for hollow fiber membranes and are expected to remain dominant in the forecast period.

Hollow fiber membranes are generally comprising of millions of hollow fibers that are wound into a element construction by cross winding technology which allows minimum uniform water flow and achieve minimum pressure loss. These membranes are cost effective solution to filter large volumes of different streams of water or other mediums. These membranes are available in different sizes & shapes as per the applications and can cater to wide range of industries such as food & beverages, dairy, wine & beer, waste water, pharmaceuticals & chemicals, mining, oil & gas, wood working among others.